Presented by Dr. Santino Severoni, Coordinator, Public Health and Migration, Division of Policy and Governance for Health and Well-being, WHO Regional Office for Europe, at the 64th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe, on 15 September 2014.

1. Migration and health
Technical briefing
Dr. Santino Severoni MD. MHE
Coordinator Public Health and Migration
Division of Policy and Governance for Health and Well-being
European Office for Investment for Health and Development
WHO Regional Office for Europe
Venice, Italy
sev@euro.who.int
http;//www.euro.who.int

2. Data, perceptions and facts
• European Region undergoing important
demographic and epidemiological changes
• 214 mil International migrants
• (3% of global population UNPD data)
• 740 mil. Internal migrants
(UNPD data)
• 8% of the WHO European Region’s total population
are migrants
• Political and communication sensitivity

3. WHO European Region
53 Member States,
886 million people
• Variation in GDP/person/year (2009):
- Tajikistan $ 1,900 [rank192]
- Luxembourg $ 104,000 [rank 3]
77 million migrants in WHO
EURO Region, (36% of global
migrants population)

4. Health and Migration, a multisectoral agenda
• Ministry of Interior
• Ministry of Labour
• Ministry of Social Affairs
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Ministry of Health
• Ministry of Education

5. Health is influenced by many factors and policies run by
institutions out of the health sector that do not always take into
account the Migration health impact approach of their action
and complexity
There is an increasing attention on
immigration issues but dominant
emphasis is still on restriction,
control and expulsion
Health
Access
Security
measures
Human
Rights
National
Regulation

6. Legal framework for health care access
• Key question is the legal provision of access to health care for
undocumented migrants
• Documented migrants are entitled to access the health care system,
(with specific rules depending on their legal status as permanent settlers, temporary
workers, refugees, asylum seekers, etc)

7. PHAME
Aspects of Migration
7
Resolution WHA 61.17
Project
Public Health
Calls for:
 Migrant-sensitive health policies
 Equitable access to services
 Information systems to assess migrant health
 Sharing information on best practices
 Raising cultural and gender sensitivity and specific training of health
service providers and professionals
 Bi/multilateral cooperation among countries
 Reducing the global deficit of health professionals
in Europe
2009: 62nd WHA Resolution on “Reducing health inequities through action on the
social determinants of health” Takes notes of the recommendations of the CSDH
2010: 63rd WHA resolution focus on the health of the most vulnerable through
constant monitoring of the achievement of the health-related MDGs

8. Public Health priorities

9. HEALTH ISSUES STEMMING FROM MIGRATION
• Migration policy and integration
• Access to health services and overcoming health
system access barriers (cultural, social and
linguistic)
• Health System capacity & Economic impact
• State of health of migrants: changing health profile,
CD & NCD, re-emerging neglected diseases
• Health risk assessment, expose to hazards and
public health implication for migrants and resident
community
• Public health data collection/generation

10. The data problem
• The lack of available data and variation
from country to country in terms of data
collection mean that there is no simple
set of data.
• Major differences in data availability across
WHO EURO Region
• incompatibility of sources, as well as
conceptual and definitional problems

11. What is next?
Mainstreaming
Health &
Migration work
Technical
Assistance to
MS
Health
Information
System
Best practices
EU
Presidency
UN CIS SEEHN
Common
Strategy
Ministerial
Meeting
RC
WHO EURO
Regional
Action Plan
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